U.S. patent application number 13/519016 was filed with the patent office on 2013-01-24 for bristle based fiber optic connector cleaner.
This patent application is currently assigned to AFL TELECOMMUNICATIONS LLC. The applicant listed for this patent is Lawrence Srutkowski. Invention is credited to Lawrence Srutkowski.
Application Number | 20130019423 13/519016 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 44196152 |
Filed Date | 2013-01-24 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130019423 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Srutkowski; Lawrence |
January 24, 2013 |
BRISTLE BASED FIBER OPTIC CONNECTOR CLEANER
Abstract
A fiber optic connector cleaner including a base, a brush-like
subsurface with a top surface, including a plurality of bristles,
connected to said base, and a fiber optic connector cleaning
material on said top surface of said brush-line subsurface, wherein
said bristles are movable to allow gaps to be created, while still
maintaining a top surface.
Inventors: |
Srutkowski; Lawrence;
(Greenville, SC) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Srutkowski; Lawrence |
Greenville |
SC |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
AFL TELECOMMUNICATIONS LLC
Spartanburg
SC
|
Family ID: |
44196152 |
Appl. No.: |
13/519016 |
Filed: |
December 23, 2010 |
PCT Filed: |
December 23, 2010 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/US10/61983 |
371 Date: |
October 5, 2012 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61289439 |
Dec 23, 2009 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
15/114 ; 15/106;
15/159.1; 15/207.2 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B08B 1/00 20130101; B08B
11/00 20130101; G02B 6/3807 20130101; B08B 2240/02 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
15/114 ;
15/159.1; 15/207.2; 15/106 |
International
Class: |
A46B 15/00 20060101
A46B015/00; A46D 1/00 20060101 A46D001/00 |
Claims
1. An fiber optic connector cleaner comprising: a base; a
brush-like subsurface with a top surface, including a plurality of
bristles, connected to said base; and a fiber optic connector
cleaning material on said top surface of said brush-line
subsurface; wherein said bristles are movable to allow gaps to be
created, while still maintaining a top surface.
2. The fiber optic cleaner of claim 1, wherein said plurality of
fibers are individually connected to said base.
3. The fiber optic cleaner of claim 1, wherein said fiber optic
cleaning material is a dry, low-lint material.
4. The fiber optic cleaner of claim 1, wherein said fiber optic
cleaning material is a wet wipe.
5. The fiber optic cleaner of claim 1, wherein said bristles are
synthetic fibers.
6. The fiber optic cleaner of claim 1, wherein said bristles are
natural animal hairs.
7. The fiber optic cleaner of claim 1, wherein said bristles are
natural fibers.
8. The fiber optic cleaner of claim 1, wherein said bristles are
metal wires.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is based upon and claims the benefit of
priority from U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/289,439, filed
Dec. 23, 2010 in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the
disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by
reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The invention relates to a fiber optic connector cleaner.
More particularly, it relates to a fiber optic connector cleaner
that includes a brush-like subsurface structure.
[0004] 2. Background
[0005] Current fiber optic connector cleaners commonly use a rubber
sub-surface below the micro fiber cleaning material to provide a
support surface to press against when cleaning the connectors. For
MT connectors containing guide pins (male MT connectors) this
necessitates the use of a protrusion or cut to provide a clearance
for the pins. As such, careful design and manufacturing must be
maintained to guarantee that the cleaner will clean all of the
protruding fibers from an MT ferrule without damaging or hindering
the movement of the guide pins. See for example, U.S. Pat. No.
6,415,471.
[0006] Conventional cleaners, such as the ones disclosed in U.S.
Pat. No. 6,415,471, which use an male-style MT cleaner on a
female-style connector, require care such that the fiber contact
area and region immediately surrounding stay in constant contact
with the section of the cleaning material that is directly in
contact with the "rail" feature of the sub-surface. Failure to do
so can result in incomplete cleaning. Similar care must be taken
when using a male-style cleaner with a single fiber ferrule.
[0007] Other problems include with conventional cleaners include
the need to keep two or three cleaners in a kit in order to have a
cleaner for male MT, female MT, and single fiber cleaning. In
addition, non-standard connectors or connectors that are designed
to a standard that is not commonly used may be difficult to clean
on a cleaner using one of the more common sub-surface styles.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] An object of the invention is to provide a single solution
to the need for a variety of sub-surfaces for cleaning fiber optic
connector/ferrule end faces.
[0009] A first embodiment of the fiber optic connector cleaner
includes a base, a brush-like subsurface with a top surface,
including a plurality of bristles, connected to said base, and a
fiber optic connector cleaning material on said top surface of said
brush-line subsurface, wherein said bristles are movable to allow
gaps to be created, while still maintaining a top surface.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] The above and other objects, features and advantages of the
invention will become more apparent by describing in detail
exemplary embodiments thereof with reference to the attached
drawings in which:
[0011] FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the invention.
[0012] FIG. 2 shows an example of the cleaner being used with an MT
connector.
[0013] FIG. 3 shows an example of the cleaner being used with a
single ferrule connector.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION
[0014] Exemplary embodiments of the invention will now be described
below by reference to the attached Figures. The described exemplary
embodiments are intended to assist the understanding of the
invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention
in any way.
[0015] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, this new cleaner uses a
brush-like subsurface to provide the support structure for the
cleaning material. FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the cleaner 1.
Cleaner 1 includes a fiber optic connector cleaning material 2.
Examples of fiber optical cleaning materials include cotton or
synthetic based, woven material that is low-lint (used dry).
Kimwipes can also be used as well as cotton swabs (in both cases,
they are wet by applying Isopropyl alcohol). However, the invention
is not limited to these specific cleaning materials.
[0016] Cleaner 1 also includes a brush-like subsurface 3 that is
made up of a plurality of individual bristles, the ends of which
form a top surface 8, which provide support for the fiber optic
connector cleaning material 2. Examples of bristles include
synthetic fibers (nylon, polypropylene, polyester, silicate,
aluminum oxide, etc.), natural animal hairs (horse, goat, etc),
natural fibers (Tampico) or metal wires (steel, brass, bronze,
etc). However, the invention is not limited to these specific
bristles.
[0017] Using smaller bristles, where the bristle diameter dimension
is significantly smaller than the nominal connector surface
diameter/width, will allow a more complete support for the ferrule
for cleaning. In addition, each bristle can be individually
connected to the base 4 of the brush, thereby allowing each bristle
to bend separate from the other bristles and form gaps 9. However,
the individual bristles do not need to be individually connected to
the base 4 as long the means for connection allows the bristles to
bend separate from the other bristles and form gaps 9. Materials
that can be used for the base include metal (steel, brass, bronze,
aluminum, etc.), plastic (PET, PVC, PBT, etc), rubber, or wood.
However, the invention is not limited to these specific base
materials.
[0018] FIG. 2 shows a fiber optic connector ferrule 5 (in this
embodiment, it is a male MT ferrule). The motion of the bristles
allows the connector guide pins 6, which are typically a small
diameter, and fiber optic connector cleaning material 2, to slip
between the gaps 9 in the bristles. However, despite the movement
of the bristles, the bristles still maintain a top surface 8 that
supports the cleaning of the connector. This movement also
eliminates the need for a protrusion or slots to be created. Also,
when a wide fiber optic connector cleaning material is used, this
design allows for the cleaning of the guide pins 6 in addition to
the cleaning of the ferrule 5, such as an MT ferrule.
[0019] FIG. 3 shows the cleaner being used to clean a single fiber
ferrule fiber optic connector 7.
[0020] Since all of the support for the surface comes from the
structure of the brush, this cleaning sub-surface would be equally
usable on a male or female ferrule of any design where the ferrule
of the connector protrudes up to or beyond the front of the
connector body.
[0021] One advantage of this design is that it allows for an
alternative sub-surface for cleaning fiber optic ferrules without
the need for a specialized subsurface designed for a particular
variety of connector.
[0022] While the invention has been particularly shown and
described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, the
invention is not limited to these embodiments. It will be
understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various
changes in form and details may be made therein without departing
from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the
following claims.
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